The Noble Path
by HisDelusionalLover
Summary: His disheveled clothes clung to his body with perspiration. His crimson eyes only a breadth away from turning veined, giving him a tragic beauty look, tragic, but perilous to keen eyes. Elena took a breath and ran towards him. Damon/Elena
1. Chapter 1

The Noble Path

 _A/N: This is my first try in multi chapter fic. I hope you like it. Let me know with reviews :) And don't hesitate to point out any grammatical mistake. This story takes place towards the end of season two. D/E_

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

 _He looks so beautiful._

That was the first thought that came into Elena's mind when she found Damon. With _Gone with the Wind_ as a backdrop, he looked completely out of place, yet somehow entirely blended. Partly because he was originally from that era, but mostly because he was as miserable as the warworn soldiers looked right now in the movie. His disheveled clothes clung to his body with perspiration. His crimson eyes only a breadth away from turning veined, giving him a tragic beauty look, tragic, but perilous to keen eyes.

Elena took a breath and ran towards him. But as she progressed, her speed decreased. She didn't want to overwhelm him. But then he turned his back on her. _Has he not noticed me?_ Frowning, she jogged towards him but came to a halt as she saw him turn back at her, now looking at her. No, not her, _her._ He was imagining her as Katherine. _Please God, not now, please._

"Damon?" she tried soothingly, cringing how rough her voice sounded to her own ears.

"Katherine?" His eyes madly went over her appearance, _God, he looked so lost. Elena wanted to cry._

"No, I'm not… I'm Elena," she almost felt guilty to deny him.

"Elena?" the way he said her name, it seemed like a foreign language to him. She bit her lip, now was not the time to feel morose over that, she placated herself. Her eyes widened as she saw his eyes flash, a primal hunger reflecting from them. He moved, taking her to the nearest tree in a blink. _He must be really weak._ Because Elena barely felt the friction of gravel with her shoes, normally it would be too fast to notice. The bark roughly pressed against her back, scratching her skin with its own prickly body. But Elena barely cared. She looked at the berserk man in front of her. He looked at her with so much hatred that she couldn't help squirm a little. But that small rustle must've reached his ear because he loosened his grip around her arms a little, but held her nonetheless.

"Elena," he repeated. She nodded madly, eager to make him believe it wasn't anyone else but her, just her. She felt so outraged, how could he not recognize her? How could he mistake her for Katherine? Did he always go for the looks? She thought angrily. But her insidious anger simmered down as soon as she heard his next words.

"You hurt me, Katherine," he said in a daze. "I loved you, and you hurt me, you threw it in my face," his voice choked around the words.

"No, no, I'm not her, Damon." Elena almost groveled, forgetting for a moment that he was not sane right now. It was just his mind that was in a whirlwind. He will be fine as soon as he gets the cure in his system.

"It's Elena, I'm Elena," she pleaded to him.

And for a tiny second he seemed to believe her. He looked at her just the way he did when he asked her if he could trust Stefan. That thought made her suffering more bitter. But then his face twisted and he howled in the thick air.

"No," he hissed, his grip again tightening on her in a bruising hold. But he didn't seem to notice. "You're lying. You are Katherine."

"Damon, please..." Elena weakly tried.

"You are a liar, sweetheart, you always were," Damon hushed her in a seductive voice. He leaned toward her neck, softly inhaling her sweet fear, mixed with adrenaline rush. The combination always excited him. He pulled away her hair from her swan neck, completely baring her to his canines. He wanted her fear, he needed her begging. But still, he wouldn't forgive her. He would make her hurt the same way she wounded his heart. He snaked his hand from her arm to the back of her neck and harshly tilted her head.

Elena remembered the vervain syringe in her jacket pocket. But she couldn't bring herself to pull it out just yet. Stefan had warned her about the situation when he gave it to her. He had also said not to hesitate, and definitely not to trust Damon, or fall for his vulnerable likeness. But she knew she won't be able to put that thing in him when he's already suffering like this. And oddly enough, she trusted him enough not to damage anything permanently.

"I'll make you feel what you did to me," Damon hissed. And then a sharp cry tore into the air and Damon realized he's pierced her skin with his razor teeth. The ambrosia liquid hit his taste buds and he moaned. The sensation was like sweet heaven, heady but not the way he remembered. The bitterness was not present. Instead, it was something else, something he had once vowed himself to protect.

"Elena." His eyes almost popping out as he stretched them to an extent. In other people's eyes he would've looked scary as hell. But Elena knew he was the scared one. He thought he had just lost her again. She wanted to sooth him, but she was a little wobbly herself. He didn't take much of her blood. But the sudden fear of fangs so close to her neck had her panicked, no thanks to Klaus.

"It's me, Damon," she whimpered in relief.

"Oh, God, Elena, I hurt you. No, no," he scrambled, still looking hazed but seemingly out of immediate lash out.

"No, you didn't," she assured him with a squeeze in his shoulder. "Let's get you home."

But he was falling over her. She quickly put her hands on his shoulders to keep him steady. But his weight warned them both to knock down. So she let herself fall with him. They went on their knees, her hands supporting him and protecting him at the same time. His head fell onto her chest. She comforted him in the only way she could do, rubbing his back with one hand and pulling his head in a more cozy position into the crook of her neck.

It was one heck of a stupid thing to do, especially when he was in such a wild state. But she stopped caring the moment he looked at her with recognition in his eyes. She knew he wouldn't hurt her physically, at least not more than she could handle.

She looked around at their surroundings. Caroline's car should be nearby. Damon had stopped moving. It caused her a chilling feeling. What if it's too late? What if he's already gone? She shook her head. She couldn't think about that, right now she had to find the car and get him to the Boarding House, as soon as possible.


	2. Blind

**A/N: Hiya :) Thank you so much for reviewing and alerting this story. I hope you like this one, too.**

 **Blind**

Elena finally spotted Caroline's Ford parked on the side of the street. Relieved, she started to pick themselves from their crouched position, already dreading lest she not be able to drag Damon safely and injure him in the process. But then Damon stirred and started coughing violently. He pushed away from her and spewed blood on the ground while his whole body convulsed with the effort. He heaved, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

"You shouldn't be here," he fought through another bout of cough. "Leave before I hurt you."

"Absolutely not," she firmly countered. Frowning as she saw him getting paler by second.

He groaned, this is really not a good time to argue. He's already having trouble to stay in the land of sanity. And it won't be long the hallucinations to start again. Suddenly, he spun back to her face and flashed his canines cruelly. "Leave or I will kill you." He curled his lips inwardly and tried to pour menace in his voice.

Elena just stared at him a moment before casually flinging his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, try not to fall or you'll hurt yourself." She encouraged him with a parental face.

Damon actually huffed at himself. Was he kidding himself? This was Elena Gilbert, the brave _,_ stubborn Elena. Did she know how much they were alike? He fought for his footing for a second, but then her hand came to rest on his waist, to pull him a little straighter.

"You have a death wish," he grimaced as the scent of her blood started filling his senses. He stopped inhaling; using a human trick won't be too effective to an unstable vampire. But it will lessen the urge to suck her dry.

They covered the distance to the car with agonizingly slow pace. He hated himself to cause this petite girl so much trouble. Once when he tried to shift so he wouldn't have to put his weight on her, she tightened her hold on his side and his hand and glared at him sternly. Finally, Damon relented with a roll of his eyes and let her do the work, still subtly trying to drag himself on his own.

When they reached the car, he hunched on the side of it while Elena unlocked the car. She opened the back door and gently nudged him to get in. By the time she got behind the driver's seat, he was already out. She didn't waste any time to start the engine and hit the road to the Boarding house.

* * *

They reached the house in a record time. She hastily pulled into the driveway, shut the engine and got out. She pulled open Damon's side of the door and reached out to shake his arm. "Damon. Hey, wake up," she called out to him. When he didn't follow through she slapped his cheek and his hand shot out to grab hers in death grip. He opened his eyes, they were a puzzle of red, black and blue and the veins around them darkened. But then he let her go and let her pull him out and hobble inside the house.

Once inside, Elena weighed her options as to where she should take him. If Alaric or Stefan were here, they wouldn't let her keep him on the loose when he was not in control of his own actions. But oddly enough, she didn't feel the press to stay away from him even now in his quasi- violent state. And the thought of seeing him in the basement when he's like this made her sick. So she took him to his room where he could rest comfortably.

The moment they entered his room after almost falling backward on the stairs twice and both times saved by Damon's fast reflexes, her breathing came a lot easily. His room somehow eased her mind. His minimal furniture and the stack of books on the floor by his bed caused her smile a little.

Elena carefully put Damon on the bed before holding him with one arm while she fluffed the pillows for him. Then she laid him back and slipped out his motorcycle boots before adjusting his legs on the bed. Once he seemed cozy enough she ran to the bathroom to find some wash-clothes. When Elena looked up at her reflection in the mirror, she saw blood drying on her neck wound. It wasn't too deep so it has stopped bleeding long ago. But she still quickly cleaned it and bandaged to avoid any further attention.

Elena came back to Damon's side with the wash-cloth in hand. She dabbed it softly on his bloody, sweating face and neck, focusing with all her will, not wanting to stray her thoughts as to what might happen if he was not treated in time. She held back a chocked sob and discarded the cloth before kicking her shoes and moved to curl on her side beside him. Damon had been quiet for some time. She wondered if he's already accepted his fate and waiting for death silently. She shook her head. Damon is strong. His design stronger than them all. He will fight tooth and nail until he wins. And he will not give up now. But then she remembered what Stefan told her about his attempt to set himself ablaze under the sun and she felt a chilling sensation run like a snake in her spine.

She jerked herself out of her thought and shifted closer to him, intertwining their hands on his chest. She squeezed his hand, quietly pleading him not to give up, not to stop fighting. Damon tilted his head to his side and bent his neck slightly to kiss the crown of her head. The sound that escaped her throat surprised her, and she realized that she'd started crying. She tried to wipe her tears away nonchalantly and tilted her head upward to show him her brave, smiling face. But her smile faded when she saw his resolute expression. He looked at her with shiny eyes. "Elena, please don't cry." he mumbled.

She forced the smile to return and raised her brows, "I won't. But promise me you will keep fighting until we get you the cure." She commanded.

He didn't answer. Instead, he nudged his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply, getting lost in the smell of her shampoo and hiding his inability to assure her of the outcome. But he couldn't hide forever, he didn't _have_ forever. And without amending one particular error, even death won't end his misery. He wished their circumstances were different. If she weren't his brother's girl and he were a half decent person, maybe, she could've been his. But fate wasn't in his favor, so he wouldn't be able to hold her like this again. Maybe this is a cruel notion of destiny, to make him feel how it feels to be cared for and then losing it all over just before the final curtain fell.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much grief all this time," he stated miserably. Elena didn't look at him, fearing she might not be able to hold back her tears if she did. And she needed to be strong for him. So, she just listened quietly. "I'm sorry for all the things I did that hurt you." he rasped.

Elena couldn't bear any more to hold back her tears. She finally looked up at him and shaking her head vigorously, "It's okay. I forgive you." she whispered, afraid to break the imposing air.

She did forgive him. Because she knew his actions were only to fortify her safety. And who knew whether Elijah's elixir would've actually worked or not. If someone she cared for were in such danger, she would've done the same for them, would've gone the same level to protect them. And she would rather choose to be hated than to lose them forever.

But she thought she had _time._

She never thought she could lose him. He was the constant shadow in her life, to who she could turn to when everything went to hell. She thought she could vent to him and when no one watched she'd curl up in his comfort. She thought he was her everlasting sanctuary. And now when that was about to snatched away from her she didn't know how to fight, except plead to fate not to take him away.

"My choices brought me here. But I don't regret them. Because of those choices I met you." He croaked in a broken tone.

He knew he didn't blame Stefan for giving him this life. He didn't blame Katherine for feeding him her blood which ultimately leaded him to vampirism. Those were his choices. He could've choose differently anytime in his unnaturally long life. But he didn't. He was still hanging onto one tiny shred of hope that one day his life will find its purpose. And when he met Elena, he knew he had found it. So, no, he didn't regret his choices. But he wished she knew him when he was human, when his innocence still existed. Maybe she would've liked him better. Maybe then she wouldn't have to try so hard to accept him.

But then she surprised him. "I'm glad that I met you, too, Damon," she genuinely smiled at him. She rubbed his hand absentmindedly, swallowing her sobs before laying her head on his chest, hoping this was not the last time she had felt his warm skin.

"You should've met me in 1864, you would've have liked me." he said.

Elena gritted her teeth. He has never showed anyone his vulnerable side until now. And now when he's starting, the future seemed bleak.

She raised her head to meet his gaze softly. "I like you now, just the way you are." And she has never been more truthful.

It's not only about giving him solace; it's about redeeming her mistaken prejudice toward him, too. She couldn't live in a world without him. And she knew this because she lived in a world where most of her family was no longer living. She had never thought he'd be gone, too. This was one of the major reasons why she clung to the undead.

But Damon, he's not just some preternatural, he's made a whole place in her life that she never knew she had room for. And now when it seemed to asunder, she was about to left with nothing but a future unfathomable. She was unaware of the privilege she had having him in her life until now.

 _He has to know what he means to me._

She lifted her head to glance at him. He was on the verge of unconsciousness, oddly quiet. The only thing comforted her was the very faint sound of his heartbeat beneath their clasped hands. She slowly moved her face toward his and her trembling lips met his cold ones with a beseeching kiss.

He didn't respond.

* * *

 **I wanted to see the scene how Elena got Damon in the Boarding House in the show. It wasn't an easy work for her, I'm sure. But since they didn't show us, I decided to create my own fantasy. Tell me your thoughts :)**


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